City manager explains undisclosed, voided $12,400 check

Menifee Mayor Scott Mann said he paid for half of his trip expenses, but it's an earlier proposal that is under scrutiny. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

Menifee City Manager Rob Johnson today defended his authority to write a $12,400 check without City Council approval to fund a three-week training seminar for Mayor Scott Mann -- a check that was voided after other council members learned of the proposed expense and objected to it.

The check was intended to go toward expenses of Mann's attendance in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a seminar for state and local leaders in state government. Mann announced in late June that he had applied and been accepted to the seminar for his "personal and professional development," adding that the trip was not being funded by the City of Menifee.

That statement was true at the time and still is -- although that might not have been the case, had no one discovered and objected to the planned expense of city funds.

Menifee resident Katie Minnear raised the issue at Wednesday night's City Council meeting, citing a missing check in the warrant registry on April 29. The warrant registry -- a public document published as part of each City Council agenda -- did not list voucher No. 33148. In exercising her right to public records, Minnear said during public comments Wednesday that she learned that voucher was for a check for $12,400 that was voided the same day it was written.

A copy of that voided check obtained by Menifee 24/7 shows a $12,400 amount payable to President and Fellows of Harvard, signed by Johnson and Mann. It also shows the check voided.

Accusing the City of a cover-up and misuse of taxpayer funds, Minnear said she "will be digging deeper to see where that money came from. Every citizen should be made aware of the tactics this city uses and how funds are changed without proper steps taken."

Asked about the situation today, Johnson (left) said he was within his rights to authorize an expense of that amount without City Council approval, citing the City's Municipal Code, which identifies the city manager as the purchasing agent with approval to authorize expenditures up to $50,000 without City Council approval. He said the funds were available within the budget line item that provides for travel, conference, meetings and mileage expenses for City Council members. He admitted, however, that he might act differently if faced with the same situation again, and that policy regarding such issues will be addressed by city staff and the council.

"In hindsight, it may have been prudent to request it of the council -- especially if I had thought a council member would be opposed to it -- and a policy is being developed now that will outline council requests for conference/training/seminars that are outside the current annual conference schedule now adhered to," Johnson said.

Johnson did not address the concern raised by Minnear that a voided check did not show in the warrant register.

Attendance at the Harvard seminar was a request by Mann and is not part of the regularly scheduled conferences allowed for in the budget. City documents show that $10,450 was budgeted for this kind of expense in the 2015-16 budget, and $13,394 was spent. In the current budget, $11,950 was allotted -- a 14.4 percent increase over the previous year.

It is difficult to track expenses within that category, however, because more than one budget category addresses that issue, Johnson said.

"The City has various travel/conference/meetings/mileage/training and educational reimbursement accounts across its departments," Johnson said. "The City spreads funds along departments to support annual conference attendance, which may be used in other areas if not used in a particular department."

Mann said today he had only asked the City to pay for half of the expense, with his employer agreeing to pay the other half. He said that after concerns were raised by some of his council colleagues, he dropped the request and paid for half of the trip himself.

"I had originally approached the city manager with a request to partially fund the seminar as I considered it to be professional development that would benefit the city," Mann told Menifee 24/7. "The original plan was a 50/50 split between the city and my employer, with me paying for all travel related expenses. In order to offset the city's cost of going to the seminar, I cancelled my regularly scheduled trip to the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Annual League of Cities Legislative Action Day.

"In order to meet the tuition deadline, a check was cut in the full amount with 50 percent reimbursement coming from my employer back to the City. However, two colleagues objected and felt that it should have gone to the Council for approval since it was not in the annual budget for council travel and conference attendance. My colleagues suggested to put it on the agenda if I felt strongly about the City funding a portion of the tuition. Ultimately, I chose not to do that because of the budget situation. In the end, the check was voided and I paid 50 percent of the tuition personally and my employer paid 50 percent."

Both Johnson and Mann said having the mayor's signature as a second signature on all outgoing checks is a matter of policy.

Mann is up for re-election in November, on the same ballot that will include a proposed 1 percent sales tax to help fund city "vital services." Mann was asked whether, given the financial constraints city officials say they are under, it was wise to request such an expenditure for a seminar not included in the regular conference and training schedule.

"The funds were available because of the two cancelled trips," Mann responded. "What was not wise on my part was (not) making sure my colleagues were comfortable with it."